The Hat That's Seen It All
by DDRVV
Summary: After another day of Luffy begging Shanks to take him to sea, Shanks decides to shut him up with a story. The story of why Shanks became a pirate, where he got his favorite straw hat and the 'magnificent' man who inspired him to take to the seas! Luffy, is of course, oblivious to the man Shanks is referring to - The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!


**Disclaimer:** One Piece belongs to Oda-Sensei!

_My first ever fanfic, a one shot no less. It's my first time, so I can't say it's that great, but I hope you'll give it a chance anyway.  
_

* * *

''Why won't you take me out to sea with you?! Why can't I become your nakama?!''

These were the words, 'Red Haired' Shanks, captain of the Red Hair Pirates had to hear every single day he entered his favourite bar. Of course, Shanks didn't really mind. He was intrigued by the young Monkey D. Luffy, and he enjoyed the atmosphere of the sleepy, but comfortable, Foosha Village.

He enjoyed it so much, that he and his crew set up base, for a few days, but those days turned to months, and now the Red Hair Pirates had been stationed at the 'Windmill Village' for almost a year.

''I already told you, Luffy! You're too young, not to mention the fact that you can't swim. We're pirates. We have no time to babysit you,'' Shanks replied.

''I may be young, but I'm still strong! You won't regret letting me be your nakama, Shanks!'' Luffy retorted.

''You? Strong? Dahahahahaa! You really crack me up, kid!'' Shanks laughed, as Luffy angrily took a sip out of his juice. He'll ask again tomorrow.

''Tell you what, Luffy. Since you like pirates so much, I'll tell you a story about a great pirate. When I first started out, he was my captain,'' Shanks said.

''Really?!'' Luffy replied, excitedly.

''Luffy, you really like Captain's stories, don't you?'' Makino, the bartender said, as she refilled Luffy's cup with juice.

Luffy nodded. ''Shanks stories are the best!''

''You like my stories that much? Dahaha, you're putting pressure on me to tell a good story! Well, here goes...''

* * *

It was a lovely day. A pirate ship was cruising along the West Blue ocean, the occupants of the ship were all out on deck, as they approached a remote island. The pirate ship belonged to Gol D. Roger, captain of the Roger Pirates. The first mate of the crew, Slivers Rayleigh was talking with the captain, while the rest of the crew waited eagerly to dock. It's been a while since they last been on solid ground.

''So, this is West Blue, huh?'' Roger said.

Rayleigh nodded. ''We better restock on food and other supplies. And by the way, we really shouldn't be having banquets every other night. The cook's beginning to complain,''

''Hahaha! Let him complain! Banquets are great!'' Roger laughed.

Rayleigh grinned. That's the captain for you, he thought.

''Captain Roger! Rayleigh-san! We're about to land!'' one of the new recruits said, as the small boy ran toward the captain and first mate.

''Thanks for that, Buggy! Yosh, men! Let's go!''

* * *

''This really is a quaint, little village, isn't it, Rayleigh-san?'' the young Buggy asked.

''This is much different from the Grand Line, I'll admit, but it's a nice change of pace. Things are peaceful here,'' Rayleigh sighed.

''RAYLEIGH!''

''What is it, Captain Roger?!'' Rayleigh replied, a buzzing still sounding in his ears.

''There's a restaurant over there, let's go!'' the future Pirate King said, as he rushed over to the restaurant. Rayleigh sighed, and ran after his hyperactive captain.

''Oi! Give me all you got, I'm starving!'' Roger said to the waiter. The waiter simply nodded, and went into the kitchen. Roger grabbed his knife and fork and began to drool, which earned him a smack in the face from his first mate.

''Even though we're pirates, we still have to be classy,'' Rayleigh reminded him.

''If I can't do as I please, there's no point in being a pirate!'' Roger replied.

''Ah, you can say that if you want, but being a pirate doesn't mean being disgusting, Captain,'' Rayleigh said, calmly.

As Roger opened his mouth to speak, the door suddenly burst open, and a large figure entered the room, in his right hand, he held a pistol, and in his left hand, a young boy, no older than 14.

''Ossan! Get out here, will ya?'' the large man said, as he pointed his pistol skyward and fired 3 shots. ''Someone get the restaurant owner out here! His 'son' has been messing with us, again!''

An old man appeared from the kitchen, looking quite worried. Roger, Rayleigh and Buggy looked on in confusion. The old man suddenly fell to his knees and bowed to the much larger man.

''I'm sorry, Captain Tako! Please forgive him, he's only a boy!'' the old man pleaded.

''Tako? That old guy's an octopus, Rayleigh?'' Roger asked.

''No, no, Captain, I think that's just his name,'' Rayleigh answered.

''Captain, Rayleigh-san, he called that octopus guy, captain! He might be a pirate too,'' Buggy pointed out.

''I am one of the most notorious pirates in the West Blue, with a bounty of 25 million! Don't overestimate yourselves! Your lives mean nothing to me! I'll spare you, old timer, but this brat, he's too much! I'll kill him now!'' Tako growled, as he threw the boy onto the ground, and pointed his pistol at him.

''Any last words, brat?''

''Yeah, I do, bastard. Don't threaten people ... with that thing,'' the boy coughed.

''What an annoying kid. I'll kill you right now!'' Tako said, as he pulled the trigger.

Bang.

Tako couldn't believe it. He had expected to see shocked faces, and a corpse in front of him, but instead, he saw a man, guarding the boy. Another pirate?!

''Get outta the way, or do you want me to kill you as well?'' Tako threatened.

''Hahahahaha! You could try!'' Roger laughed.

''I have one of the largest pirate crews in the West Blue. Do you really want to mess with me?'' Tako asked aggressively.

''Bring all your men. Even my new recruit could wipe them out!'' Roger exclaimed, as he pointed towards Buggy, who proceeded to hide behind Rayleigh, who had begun to stand up.

''What star was I born under to have this much trouble? Our captain really can't go anywhere without causing trouble!'' Rayleigh said.

''Damn you, bastards!'' Tako shouted, as he aimed his gun at Roger, but before he could pull the trigger, Rayleigh had already cut him.

''Sorry, but I can't let you hurt my captain!'' Rayleigh said, as Tako succumbed to his injuries.

Roger patted Rayleigh on the back, and Buggy breathed a sigh of relief. Roger turned to the young boy, and offered his hand, which the boy quickly took.

''What's your name, boy?'' Roger asked.

''Shanks,'' the boy replied.

Roger opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter any words, the old man was bowing before him.

''Thank you for saving my son, thank you for saving my son, thank you for saving my -,''

''Oi, geezer! Shut up, I'm trying to talk to Shanks here,'' Roger snapped, cutting the old man off, who quickly stopped talking.

''Kid, you're quite the character! Even though he had a gun, you stood up to him!'' Roger said, chuckling.

''Yeah, so? I deal with these pirates all the time. Pirates always come to this village. It's one of the last stops before they reach the Grand Line,'' Shanks explained.

''Grand Line, huh? I've already been there, kid, and let me tell you, that octopus ossan wouldn't have lasted 5 seconds!'' Roger laughed.

''Really? You've been to Grand Line?!'' Shanks asked, excitedly.

''Of course! And I'm planning another trip there, soon. You wanna come with me? Do you want to be my nakama?'' Roger offered.

Before Shanks could answer, Roger took off his signature straw hat and put it on the young boy's head.

''So, you're coming with us, after all! Take this straw hat, okay? It looks better on you, anyway, hahahaha!'' Roger said, as he grabbed a barrel of sake and began to gulp it all down.

Rayleigh patted the new recruit on the back, while Buggy looked on stunned. ''The Captain's signature straw hat, he just gave it to the red haired kid, like it was nothing!''

''But ... I didn't even answer yet,'' Shanks said, bewildered.

* * *

''And that's the story, Luffy! Makino!'' Shanks said, as he finished his third barrel of sake. ''That's the story of how I started out as a pirate, of course there's more, but I'll tell you that soon enough, Luffy!''

''Captain, that straw hat you're wearing now. Does it belong to your former captain?'' Makino asked.

Shanks nodded. ''This belonged to him already. He was really a magnificent man,''

''Amazing! Shanks, now you really have to take me with you! Let me be your nakama! Please!'' Luffy begged.

''Shit ... that story just made him want to go out to sea even more,'' Shanks cursed, as Luffy lunged for the Red Haired Pirate.

''Oi, get off me, kid!'' Shanks said, as he tried to pry the young boy off him.

''Not until you take me out to sea with you, Shanks!'' Luffy demanded.

After a few minutes struggle, Luffy tired out and slumped back on his seat.

''Damn it, kid,'' Shanks said, as he checked his body for bruises. ''Why do you want to go out to sea anyways?''

''I want to be ... the Pirate King!'' Luffy said, striking his coolest possible pose.

''You? Pirate King? It's bad enough that you want to be a pirate, but now you want to be the king of pirates?'' Shanks laughed.

''Why do you want to be a pirate anyway, Luffy? We're outlaws, we get chased by marines, and we get into fights with other pirates,'' Shanks explained. ''It's not a kid's game,''

''I don't care! Being a pirate is the only thing, I want to do! It's the only thing I've ever considered doing! I want to be a free man, and go on adventures all the time! If I couldn't do as I pleased, there would be no point in being a pirate, would there, Shanks?!'' Luffy exclaimed.

''You want to be a pirate, so you can be ... free?''

* * *

**((Many years ago on the Oro Jackson))**

''Oi, ossan, why did you become a pirate? The geezer back at the restaurant always said that pirates were no good, but you helped me! You're not like that octopus guy at all,'' Shanks asked, as he clutched onto his newly acquired straw hat.

''I love adventure. And a pirate gets to go on adventures all the time!'' Roger said. ''Everywhere I go, I get shunned by most people for being an outlaw, and even though I don't like that, I accept it, because they're not wrong to think that. Pirates can be evil people,''

''But I don't do any evil things! I only want to be free! If I couldn't do as I pleased, I would never have become a pirate! There wouldn't have been any point, hahahahaha!'' Roger laughed.

''Dahaha! Well, that's all I needed to hear, ossan! From now on, I'm your loyal nakama! I'll fight alongside you!'' Shanks exclaimed.

''Don't misunderstand, kid. Even though you could be a great pirate one day, you're still a trainee pirate. I won't let you risk your life for me ... just yet, okay? There's another trainee around here by the name of Buggy, he's probably a year or two older than you. He's new as well, so you guys should become friends,'' Roger said, as he got up, and jumped onto the top of the ship's mast.

''Roger Pirates! Let's go!''


End file.
